Sorry

As my town's resident technology expert, I am sometimes approached by complete strangers with tech questions. Lately, 9 out of 10 ask, "What's the best smartphone?"

I can see in their faces that they would like a straightforward answer, something along the lines of, "Buy Samsung's Galaxy S5; you'll love it." But I can't say that. That's not because the Galaxy S5 isn't an excellent phone. Everything I've heard about it tells me that it is.

The only answer I can ever give is, "It depends." And I follow that up with, "What are you going to be using the phone for? What do you really need from the phone? What can't you do without in a smartphone?"

For some people, including me, the first consideration is whether the phone has a physical keyboard. I hate typing on a screen, which is one reason I'll never be an Office for iPad user. For me, a physical qwerty keyboard isn't just nice to have; it's a must-have. Given that priority, the best smartphone I've found to date is the Motorola Droid 4.

But if a physical keyboard isn't a priority for you, I very much doubt that you would think very highly at all of my two-year-old Droid. What's a great phone for me could well be a dud for you or someone else.

It's all about your priorities. Do you want a smartphone that will work as a replacement for a point-and-shoot camera? Your best choices in that case are probably Apple's iPhone 5S or the Nokia Lumia 1020. But maybe playing games or watching videos is your top priority. If that's the case, the best graphics tester on the planet -- DisplayMate president and research scientist Raymond Soneira -- thinks you'll love the Galaxy S5.

For some people, it all comes down to apps. The argument over whether Android or iOS has the best applications will never be settled because the answer is personal. They both have thousands of great apps, but the only thing that really matters to you or any other individual user is whether they have the one app that you need above all others.

Other factors come into play in the Android/iOS divide. Personally, I prefer Android because I like open systems. But other people like the security of knowing that any up-to-date iPhone is going to work with the latest version of iOS. I have no such confidence in the Android world where I have chosen to live, but that's a trade-off I've decided I can accept.

The Runners-up

Of course, the smartphone universe is bigger than Android and iOS. What about Windows Phone? Firefox OS? Ubuntu? Well, here I can give you a definitive answer: no. Windows Phone is a fiasco; stay away. I can find good things to say about the other runner-up smartphone operating systems, but you won't have much choice in hardware or applications. What about BlackBerry? Well, if your top priority is securely accessing corporate email, or if you're the president of the United States, a BlackBerry may be for you.

In short, there are no "perfect" smartphone choices. There is no "best" pick. There's only what will work best for you. Look at your needs, look at what you want, and check out the reviews of the latest and greatest. Then you'll be ready to find your best smartphone.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was cutting-edge and 300bps was a fast Internet connection -- and we liked it! He can be reached at sjvn@vna1.com.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting-edge PC operating system, 300bps was a fast Internet connection, WordStar was the state-of-the-art word processor, and we liked it!